Two years ago, on this day, Govind Pansare, was shot when he was returning after a morning walk with his wife in Kolhapur in the morning. He died four days later, on 20th February, 2015. He was vocal in his support for the rationalist, Narendra Dabholkar, and, who was killed a year and a half earlier, on 20th August, 2013. On that same day, Pansare had come to pay his final respects. The next day he told the Times of India that the attack was not personal, but ideological. Dabholkar, founder of the Maharastra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (Maharashtra Blind Faith Eradication Committee), and Pansare, a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), were both rationalists targeted for their beliefs. A year later, M.M. Kalburgi, would also be killed in Dharwad.
After Dabholkar’s murder, Avinash Patil, his long time associate, was elected to carry the activities of MANS forward. Patil, currently in Delhi, explains the current status of the investigations in an interview with the Indian Cultural Forum.
